Time of Dying
by MarauderGirl777
Summary: Why is that she was always the one to save him when he was dying? She'd changed so much since their genin years.. He found himself unable to look away. GaaraxSakura. Based on the song "Time of Dying" by Three Days Grace.


Time of Dying

_On the ground I lay_

_Motionless, in pain_

_I can see my life flashing before my eyes_

Did it always come down to this? To him, dying, waiting for someone to save him?

The first time she saved him was during their mission to retrieve his student, Matsuri. It was so degrading, having the useless kunoichi have to heal his injuries. At least she made _some _sort of use for herself. He had to admit; though she was weak, he owed his life to her, many times over. Why was _she_ always the one to come to his rescue? Was she his stalker or something?

He coughed up some blood. He hated how badly he needed her at that moment. Although, she was nowhere around. He was in the middle of Suna's desert, the sand whirling around him.

A sandstorm was coming soon, he could tell. He closed his eyes, fighting to breathe, his lungs heavily bruised. His ribcage was crushed, and his arms and legs broken. He was tired; and though that was the least of his problems, he found his eyelids wanting to drift shut, to let the blackness overtake him. He knew he would die. It was inevitable, with no one around to save him.

_Dead, I fall asleep_

_Is this all a dream?_

_Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare_

He groaned in pain. The exertion it took just to breath was excruciatingly painful. The desert sands whirred about him, the sand scraping against his skin and making the cuts along his bare chest all the more painful. He winced, taking in a big, wheezing breath. He wanted to sleep, so badly. If he weren't in so much pain, he knew he'd be able to sleep. He'd just have to wait until death took him.

He wished so desperately that she were there with him. He knew she'd give her last breath to save him, for she was the most dedicated medic he knew. He also couldn't help but want to see those calming jade eyes, and that small smile of reassurance she gave him. He missed it; it felt like...

.. Home.

He loved her eyes.. His mother had the same eyes. He remember Temari telling him of their mother, and how she had the most beautiful green eyes anyone had ever seen. And, he thought, if anyone had eyes like his mother, it would have to be Sakura Haruno.

_I will not die..._

_I will survive_

The more he thought about them, the more he wanted to see them. He fought the will to die, and knew that if he did have to die, he wanted to see those emerald eyes one more time before he went into the afterlife.

With a shaky lift of his hand, he used the last bit of his chakra to form some desert sand into a bird. As long as he was alive, he knew the bird would report to Konoha, and tell them of the emergency. He also knew the sand bird would lead them to where Gaara was.

Gaara watched the bird fly off into the setting sun, before groaning softly and passing out.

_I will not die_

_I'll wait here for you_

_I feel alive_

_When you're beside me_

_I will not die_

_I'll wait here for you_

_In my time of dying.._

His eyelids slowly drifted open. His vision was blurry; very blurry. He grunted, feeling a pair of cool hands on the skin of his chest. They felt wonderful; he could feel the same cooling sensation spreading throughout his broken body. He could feel bones being repaired, could feel his organs being patched up, could feel this pleasant sensation throughout his whole body. He let his eyes shut for another moment before re-opening them, his vision clearing. He saw those beautiful green eyes and he calmed slightly. He looked around. He was in a hospital bed. It looked like he was in Suna's infirmary.

He was still in so much pain.. He ached all over, and though the medical jutsu was repairing some of the major damage, it wasn't helping very much. Sakura was getting tired, too; he could tell by the sweat developing on her brow and the trembling of her normally steady hands. She couldn't do much more.

He tried to talk, but found it hard to breathe, much attempt speech.

_On this bed I lay_

_Losing everything_

_I can see my life passing me by_

"S.." he was barely able to mumble out, and she looked at him, her eyes catching his. He relaxed slightly, and she smiled at him.

"Don't worry Gaara-sama," she said reassuring, though her voice was weak, "I'll have you perfectly fit in no time.."

"D-Don't.. be stupid.." he managed to rasp out. He licked his lips; they were so dry.. He wanted water, badly. His throat was raw, the taste of blood staining his tongue. He coughed and his whole body throbbed in pain. Sakura grit her teeth, before the medical glow faded from her hands, and she panted, clutching her chest.

"N-Ngh.." she bit her lip, eyes closing for a moment. She then looked at him, and he stared at her, his breathing shallow.

"I-I don't have much chakra left.." she mumbled, frowning in humiliation and frustration. "A-Are you alright.."

He glared at her. "Does it.. Look like.. I'm alright.." he rasped.

"N-No, stupid question.." she looked away for a moment. "Anything I can get you..? I'm going to get a soldier pill to restore some chakra.."

"Just let me die.." he whispered.

Her eyes widened. ".. What?"

"Let.. me.. die."

_Is it all too much?_

_Or just not enough?_

_Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare.._

Sakura's brows furrowed with that determination Gaara found rather attractive. He admired her determination; it was as strong as Naruto's. "I'm not giving up until you're back at your desk in Suna.."

He licked his lips again. If she really was going to persist, he might as well have had her get some water for him. That was what he wanted more than anything. Being in the desert for a day or more with absolutely nothing but pain and suffering called for a glass of ice cold water.

"Water.." he croaked, unable to come back with any snappy comments. She nodded and left the room quickly, and he strangely found himself missing her presence.

He looked around the room. It was plain, nothing to distract him from the pain he was experiencing. Wounds half-healed, his body felt strange. Like he had two different bodies.. one broken, one healed.

_I will not die.. _

_I will survive_

Sakura quickly came back, and seemed to have already taken the soldier pill, for she seemed much more alive and full of energy than before. She smiled at him and cradled his head with her hand, lifting it just enough so he could drink. She put the cup to his lips, and he drank, dismissing the embarrassment that flooded his mind.

After the water was gone, he licked his lips, feeling slight relief from the pain. The water helped.

He looked up at Sakura, and though she was the weakling of Konoha, annoying and loud, fangirl of Sasuke..

He frowned. Something wasn't right.

She wasn't obsessed with Sasuke anymore. She wasn't weak. And she wasn't that annoying. She was strong, kind, yet fierce and protective.

And he found that he couldn't stop looking at her.

Though he hated to admit it, she was truly beautiful, in every sense. Konoha's annoying brat had truly blossomed into a real woman.. trule one of the most beautiful women he'd ever laid eyes on.

_I will not die_

_I'll wait for you_

_I feel alive_

_When you're beside me_

He closed his eyes and let his mind rest, not thinking as she began once again to heal him. He listened to her every calm, deep breath, and felt her soothing hands run across his abdomen and chest. Her medical chakra was strong once again; she must have eaten a specially formulated soldier pill.

Her hands moved up to heal all the damage done to his face. He must have looked terrible. He was suddenly self-conscious. Did she think he was ugly? He never really did like his appearance himself.

He felt her hands move along his face, and no cuts or bruises made it ache anymore. One hand moved up to his forehead, and a few fingers brushed through his hair gently.

He shivered. No one had touched his head like that before.. it made his scalp tingle. He liked it, and as he looked at her face, he felt completely at peace. His almost deathly state didn't matter, his dry, thirsty tongue didn't matter, his job as Kazekage didn't matter.. nothing mattered.

_I will not die_

_I'll wait here for you_

_In my time of dying_

Sakura stayed with him the whole night. Pill after pill she took to regain just enough chakra to heal him more. He knew the pills were taking their toll; she could see how weary her eyes were. And though her body had strength, her spirit, and mind were immeasurably tired. He couldn't believe how many times she'd refused when he told her to give up. Each time she'd frown at him and tell him that wasn't her ninja way. He admired her more and more each minute.

"Haruno-san.." he murmured, as she was working on a few of his shattered ribs. She looked at him.

".. Why are you doing this.." he mumbled, eyes closed, chest heaving. He shuddered.

".. Because you're important." she replied, seeming to take much care in her choice of words.

He was at a loss. He didn't know what to say. ".. Why are you the only one here..?" he mumbled, looking out the dark window.

"I don't want to disturb Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said, before smiling. "She's awfully grumpy when woken up."

He said nothing more. Not because he couldn't, for she was healing him nicely, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

_I will not die_

_I'll wait here for you_

He finally could think of something to say, an hour later. He wasn't hurting much anymore; the medical chakra acted as a sort of numbing agent.

He turned his head to look at her. "..Thank you."

She paused and looked at him, dumb-founded. She turned pink, and smiled, nodding. She continued her work, seeming even more enthusiastic than before. After a while, she grew exhausted. He could see it. Her body was sagging. The soldier pills were making her crash.

"Sa - " he began, but suddenly, her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell back, passed out. She had run out of chakra, he could tell. With a wince and much effort, he sat up, pulling himself off of the hospital bed. He fell onto his knees and grunted, trembling slightly. Apparently she hadn't healed as many of his injuries as he'd thought..

He dragged his body over to hers, and grabbed her up, pulling her to the nearest chair.

_I feel alive_

_When you're beside me_

He carefully set her in the chair, letting her head rest against the wall. Reaching up, he brushed a lock of pink hair out of her eyes and gazed at her, furrowing his invisible brows. "How did you change so much.."

xXx

His eyes slowly opened. There was light. Alot of light. His vision cleared after blinking his eyes a few times, and he grunted, looking around. He saw Tsunade sleeping in a chair by the bed he laid in. What happened? Last thing he remembered was passing out on the floor..

After clearing his throat, Tsunade jerked awake, grumbling. He frowned questioningly at her. She smiled at him. "Good afternoon, Gaara."

"What happened?" Gaara immediately asked, frowning more.

"Well, I woke up and found you on the floor and Sakura in the chair, both of you completely out cold. I put you on the bed and woke Sakura up, telling her to go home and rest, and I finished healing you."

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days."

_I will not die_

"What?!" his eyes widened and he immediately sat up. He realized then that he felt perfectly fine. A little weak, but fine. However, he definitely wasn't fine enough to walk. He sat there, wincing slightly. "What about Suna?"

"I've already contacted them," Tsunade replied reassuringly, chuckling. "Everything is fine."

".. Where is Sakura now?" Gaara found himself asking, though he didn't know why. He felt the urge to thank her again.. for all she did for him.

"She's here," Tsunade grinned. "She wanted to see you before you left, to see how you were doing."

Gaara nodded quietly, and Tsunade stood, stretching. She left the room, and Gaara didn't catch the sly wink the blonde gave the rosette, and wondered why Sakura came into the room with a pink face.

She walked over to the bed and stood by it, smiling at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak, but fine." he said quietly.

She nodded, smiling. "That's good. I'm glad you're okay."

He glanced at her, after a moment. "Thank you... Sakura."

Her eyes widened some. "I-It's fine.. I was glad to help."

"You were the only one to help." he said. "You stayed up all night trying your hardest, killing your body just to save me.. Why?"

She bit her lip. "I told you why.."

"There's more, I know. Tell me." he demanded, voice exerting authority.

She looked down and away, eyes averted to the ground. "I've admired you.. for a long time."

His eyes widened slightly. "What.. do you mean?"

"I mean.." she looked at him meekly. "Somehow, since you've changed, I've kept my eye on you.. I knew you would turn into something great, and you have. You're an amazing man, Gaara." she turned pink, looking away again.

He couldn't think of anything to say. He only stared at her with wide eyes.

_I'll wait here for you_

She leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "I'll be waiting for when you come back," and pressed her lips to his cheek softly. His eyes widened more and his skin tingled where her lips had been. He watched in awe as she walked to the door.

_'She kissed me.. No one's ever done that..' _he thought. It felt strange, but in a way.. he liked the affection. _'Maybe I'm not so unlovable after all..'_

"Sakura!" he called as she reached for the doorknob. She looked back at him, blinking curiously.

"I'll.. visit soon," he said quietly, and she smiled brightly, nodding and opening the door. She gave him a small grin before leaving, closing the door behind her.

_In my time of dying.._


End file.
